Browsing Tag

Ethical Fashion

Sugar Cane Jeans for Eco-warriors!

One of the original Japanese denim brands, Sugar Cane has a deep root history in innovation based on style and materials.

‘ Sugar Cane ’ denim by traditional Japanese dyeing techniques by hand and not by machine. The first model ‘ Sugar Cane Awa ’ is made of sugar cane denim dyed by Awa indigo. Awa used to be one of the popular places producing indigo, located in the western part of Japan. The second model ‘ Sugar Cane Okinawa ’ is made of sugar cane fibre and indigo produced in the region of Okinawa, Japan. The third model ‘ Sugar Cane Hawaii ’ is made from sugar cane and indigo imported from Hawaii. ‘

BUY SUGAR CANE JEANS HERE

Ethical Fashion Fashion

The woes of a Vegetarian Fashionista

An interesting thread on the dilemmas of ethical fashion:

“i can picture it now: sitting in a suave veggie bar wearing a pair of calf skin gucci loafers weeping over a tofu wrap.”

Take a butchers at the thread on the Kitmeout Fashion Forum

“it’s partially true. soy bean production like any other farmed crop is a strain on the enviornment. however, it is nothing compared to the detrimental impact that livestock farming produces. cattle produce more carbon than all the cars in the world combined and here’s the big one, it takes 1 acre of livestock to produce 1lb or meat protein but the same 1 acre can produce 10lb of veg protein. so bean farming is not only more environmentally sound it also has the ability to feed the starving.”

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Organic Fashion

Take a butchers at the debate on “organic Fashion” at the Kitmeout Forum:

“Because The Industry Is So Nascent There Are No Real Standards. Sugar Cane Have A History Of Producing Denim Made With Fibres Which Are Apparently Less Harmful To The Environment. A Lot Of The Other Brands Are Just Seeing An Opportunity To Make Hard Cash.”

See full thread here >

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Brand to watch in 2012, NOHARM

Keep a close eye on NOHARM in 2012. We believe it could be the new up and coming brand for next year. Not many brands have the heart or the vision to bring ethics and fashion to the same table but NOHARM has been quietly setting things out in recent years and 2012 is possibly the year when everything comes together. Below is an advert taken from the industry leading fashion.net website. They sum it up nicely. Take a butchers:

Visit the official NOHARM site at noharm.com

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Production of Biobased Polyethylene by Toray

Toray Industries, Inc. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan; President, CEO & COO: Akihiro Nikkaku, hereafter referred to as “Toray”) has succeeded in producing laboratory-scale samples of the world’s first fully renewable biobased PET fiber by using fully renewable biobased PET derived from biobased para-xylene from Gevo, Inc. (Head Office: Englewood, Colorado, U.S.A, CEO: Patrick R. Gruber, hereafter referred to as “Gevo”), a leading company in renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels.

Production of Biobased Polyethylene by Toray

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Vivienne Westwood, A Concerned Fashion Designer

Vivienne Westwood predicts humanity is heading for the gas chamber.

Her extreme viewpoints on human rights, the financial crisis and the environment ended up being the focus of a Guardian profile from this weekend. She’s even reluctant to encourage people to buy her clothes.

On the inevitability of human extinction:

I will say something that sounds terrible. We’re all going into the gas chamber, and what I’m saying is that it’s not a bathroom. We’re going to be killed. The human race faces mass extinction.

On the contradiction between selling expensive clothes while fighting to save the planet from the harm that consumerism is supposedly doing to it:

‘My message is: choose well and buy less,’ she said then – as if to suggest you should buy one Westwood dress rather than filling Primark trolleys regularly.

‘I don’t feel comfortable defending my clothes. For 15 years I hated fashion.’ Why? ‘It’s not very intellectual, and I wanted to read, not make fashion. It was something I was good at; it wasn’t all of me.’

Ethical Fashion Fashion

India cracks down on child labour

After global apparel brands stopped sourcing from Indian apparel exporters for engaging child labour, the industry has decided to adopt zero tolerance to child labour and cleanse the supply chain. Though the extensive auditing of the supply chain will add an additional cost of 5 per cent, but it will at least keep India off trade barriers owing to lack of compliance.

Apparel industry players would now make sure that labour contractors don’t engage child labour and get the supply chain of the suppliers audited so that the industry starts getting orders again. AEPC has designed a compliance programme ‘Disha’ (Driving Industry towards Sustainable Human Capital Advancement) that would be implemented on the $11 billion industry soon. Disha will be coordinated and monitored in liaison with the Ministry of Textile. Global apparel buyers like H&M, Adidas, Next were a part of the team that drafted the program guidelines of Disha.

Global giants like Primark, Gap, M&S have had problems with their Indian suppliers in the past when the latter faulted on compliance. The US imports 30 per cent of business from India.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

China’s Future Fashion is Green?

As the Chinese government struggles to meet several of its own environmental targets to 2015, China’s textile industry could face a new ‘green tax’, which together with higher wages and a slump in exports, puts additional pressure on an industry that is already facing big challenges.

Fashion

Thom Browne | Fashion For Action

KTV caught up with Thom Browne at Fashion For Action to discuss his involvement with the charity Housing Works, his unique trousers, fashion 101 for men, and what he has coming up with his mens & womens collection, Moncler and Brooks Brothers. Take a look! Music by the Doppelgangaz.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Jam out for a good cause

Jawbone has joined forces with charity: water to help support their staff and operations — allowing them to continue the important work of bringing clean, safe drinking water to the billion people currently living without it.

$50 from each Limited Edition JAMBOX will go to support charity: water.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

UNHATE Campaign by Benetton

The official film of the Unhate worldwide communication campaign by Benetton launched in Paris on November 16th and presented by Alessandro Benetton.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Puma – Eco Friendly Trainers and Clothing

PUMA is following the NOHARM lead further by producing clothes and trainers that are compostable. PUMA’s CEO Franz Koch told the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche:

“We are confident that in the near future we will be able to bring the first shoes, T-shirts and bags, that are either compostable or recyclable, to the market. It follows two circuits, the technical and the biological: I can use old shoes to make new ones or something completely different, such as car tyres. In the biological cycle, I can make shoes and shirts that are compostable so I can shred them and bury them in the back garden. We are working on products that meet these two criteria.”

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Timberland Boots x Ringo Starr

It’s a shame they don’t completely get it and are using leather but at least they’re on the right track:

Ringo, Peace & Love

“You love boots–that’s why you’re here. And since you’re an innately good and noble person, you probably love helping great causes, too. Lastly, we know you love Ringo. Because hey, who doesn’t?

Well, now you can roll ‘em all up into one giant act of Internet-browsing, mouse-clicking glory. Because beginning December 1, 2011 at 9:00 pm EST, you’ll have a chance to bid on a pair of limited-edition Timberland® Earthkeepers® Bionic® Canvas boots featuring artwork created by the one-and-only Ringo Starr himself.

And the best part (besides the boots) is that 100% of the proceeds* go to WaterAid, an international organization improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities.

We call it Canvas that Cares, and we’re kicking off the program with a real-life, honest to goodness Beatle (we can’t believe it either). And we want you to get in on it. So click here to find out more about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.You love boots–that’s why you’re here. And since you’re an innately good and noble person, you probably love helping great causes, too. Lastly, we know you love Ringo. Because hey, who doesn’t?

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Designer Gas Masks – Sweet Irony

Can the irony be more poignant. A a designer gas mask to save us from environmental catastrophe! You have to laugh.

A series of designer gas masks by conceptual artist Diddo Velema explores the psychological comfort we derive from high-end goods in the face of imminent disaster. Decked in the iconic logos of Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton, the masks offer a critique of our “collectively insatiable culture of consumption,” according to Velema. “Because it is only by first acknowledging and then challenging fear that we will all be able to breathe a little easier,” he adds.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Levi’s and Adidas try Eco-Friendly “Better Cotton”

What is BCI? Well, The Better Cotton Initiative exists in order to respond to the current impacts of cotton production worldwide. BCI aims to promote measurable improvements in the key environmental and social impacts of cotton cultivation worldwide to make it more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. Since 2005, the BCI has been working with organisations from across the cotton supply chain and interested stakeholders to facilitate a solution for the mainstream cotton sector. The BCI’s philosophy is to develop a market for a new mainstream commodity: ‘Better Cotton’ and thereby transform the cotton commodity to bring long-term benefits for the environment, farmers and other people dependent on cotton for their livelihood.

Retailers such as Levi’s, Adidas, H&M and Marks & Spencer are giving it a bash. Momentum for the project has been driven in large part by the Better Cotton Initiative, a nonprofit launched in 2005 to reduce the environmental, social, economic impacts of cotton farming. The Geneva-based organization includes a wide range of stakeholders, from farmers and textile mills to retailers and nonprofits.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Cross-species Fashion

Who said fashion was humancentric. Take a butchers or a gander at this knit. Even Smedley would be proud.

Knit a Sweater for a Penguin, Help Save an Oil-Spill Victim’s Life

Due to the generous outpouring of handknits, a Maritime New Zealand spokesman says wildlife centers have more than enough, particularly with the warm weather they’ve been having. The penguins may not even appreciate the woolies, says one bird-keeper at Auckland Zoo. “Putting something like that on a penguin, it’s probably only going to stress it out even more than they already are,” she told Bay of Plenty Times. “These are wild penguins, they haven’t had any interaction with humans. There’s already enough stress on a bird without trying to put a sweater on it.” There go our plans to knit mini Quidditch uniforms for every House. Rats.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Counterfeit UGG Boots made with Raccoon Dog Skin

Following Kitmeout’s report on raccoon dog’s being skinned alive to satiate a demand for fur back in 2007, animal-rights group Swiss Animal Protection has uncovered horrifying footage of breeders skinning raccoon dogs alive to make cheap knockoffs of UGGs. Genuine UGGs cost up to $300 a pair, but counterfeiters substituting sheepskin with raccoon-dog pelts and selling them at discounted prices. Despite their name, raccoon dogs are more closely related to domestic dogs than they are raccoons. One animal is shown with its neck pinned to the ground with a heavy boot before it’s skinned alive and tossed onto a heap of carcasses whilst still conscious.

A News investigation has uncovered what appears to be the appalling treatment of animals being killed for their fur in China.

The investigators filmed animals that were kicking and writhing as workers ripped their skin from their bodies. If the animals struggled too much, workers stood on the animals’ neck Or they beat the animals’ heads with knife handles until the creatures stopped moving.

It’s also a very slow process, and they usually start from the feet(paw)-up, giving the animal plenty of time to endure the pain. After their fur was peeled, the animals’ bodies were tossed into a pile like so much trash, Most still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. One investigator recorded a skinned raccoon dog, tossed onto a heap of carcasses; it had enough strength to lift its bloodied head and stare into the camera.

it raised its head, blinked with its remaining eyelashes and then lay its head down to continue dying for anything from 2-3 Hours.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

American Eagle Outfitters – Denim Recycling Program

American Eagle Outfitters and Cotton Incorporated are partnering on a denim recycling program called “Cotton. From Blue to Green.”

American Eagle Outfitters customers are invited to bring any type of denim from any brand to American Eagle Outfitters stores. The denim is then given a “new life” by being converted into UltraTouch Denim Insulation, and is provided to communities in need. Everyone who recycles their denim at the stores will receive a 20 percent discount on their entire purchase that day.

“American Eagle Outfitters customers care about the environment, and want to help communities in need,” said Marcie Eberhart, director of the AEO Foundation. “This program enables them to do both, as well as receive a fantastic offer on the new fall collection.”

Ethical Fashion Fashion

New Balance Creates NewSky Sneaker From 95% Recycled Plastic Bottles

As part of a greater effort from New Balance to adopt more sustainable practices, newSKY represents an approach towards utilizing recycled materials to create footwear.

The upper of newSKY is made entirely from Eco-fi; a high-quality polyester manufactured from 95% PET plastic bottles. Bottles are chopped into flakes, heated, and molded into fiber, creating a strong, versatile fabric. It takes only about 12 bottles to produce one pound of fiber and only about 8 bottles to create an average pair of newSKY shoes. In addition to the environmental benefits of reusing plastic bottles, it’s Eco-fi’s technical qualities that make it an exceptional textile for footwear.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

West Hollywood becomes first city to ban sale of fur

Who said Hollywood is full of vacuous, self-obsessed, ignoramuses, who could no more empathise with the victimised than they could take their eyes of their bathroom mirror. Well…

Residents and businesses spoke out after the city of West Hollywood voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that would ban the sale of fur.

City staff must refine the ordinance to include the date of implementation and the amount of civil penalties before it can receive final approval, which could come in two weeks.

The ban — the first of its kind in the nation — would prohibit the sales of fur clothing but leather goods, furniture, and fur decorated accessories are okay.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

EDUN Clothing Pioneers Project

EDUN Launches “Pioneers” Project to Showcase Men of Style, Substance (Including TOMS’s Blake Mycoskie!) at New York Fashion Week

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Armani to cease sandblasting jeans

Giorgio Armani has committed to ban the dangerous practice of sandblasting jeans, a technique used to give jeans a worn look which seriously damages the health of workers.

“In regard to the sandblasting finish applied to certain garments, the Armani Group wishes to make clear that this technique has been eliminated from our production processes starting from the autumn-winter 2011/2012 collection that is currently available in the stores worldwide,” Armani announced.

“What has happened here is incredible,” said Meredith Slater, an organizer with Change.org. “People from all over the world came together to ask Armani to eliminate a practice that endangered workers, and the company responded by saying that it would ban sandblasting immediately.”

“We welcome Armani’s decision to stop sandblasting starting from the autumn-winter 2011/2012 collection,” said Deborah Lucchetti, the Clean Clothes Campaign’s Italy coordinator. “We will be following up with the brand to provide information as to how they will be implementing the ban and monitoring their supply chains.”

Ethical Fashion Fashion

adidas ethical fashion – on the NOHARM mission

adidas Group’s Commitment to Zero Discharge of hazardous chemicals.

Looks like adidas are following NOHARM’s lead too by making a commitment to go ethical with their production techniques.

Since July 2011 Greenpeace International has been campaigning to drive change in our industry. They are calling for the zero discharge of all hazardous and persistent chemicals at all points in global supply chains: from the cotton fields, to the mills and dye houses that make the fabric and the garment production. In China alone, there are an estimated 50,000 textile mills and hundreds of chemicals suppliers. To put this in context, the adidas Group buys fabric from 10 key textile mills and dye houses in China. These materials suppliers follow some of the strictest standards in the industry.

Greenpeace has directed its campaign towards sporting goods companies in the belief that they can act as a catalyst for change for the whole industry. Why? Because sporting goods companies, such as the adidas Group, are already widely recognised for their leadership when it comes to environmental sustainability. The adidas Group has one of the most stringent restricted substances policies of any consumer goods company operating in the apparel sector. We have been working successfully on the reduction and progressive elimination of hazardous chemicals in our supply chain for more than 15 years.

Greenpeace’s Detox campaign has been characterised as a competition among brands. The simple truth, however, is that there can be no “winners” unless the industry acts together. With that objective in mind, the adidas Group has together with other brands been working tirelessly in recent weeks to bring the industry together in a forum to develop a roadmap that will address the “zero discharge” challenge that Greenpeace has posed. That forum is planned to be held at the end of September in Amsterdam.

Full Details

Ethical Fashion Fashion

New York Vegan Fashion Show featuring NOHARM

Albany Vegetarian Network Inc.’s Photos – 2010 Veg Expo & Fashion Show featuring NOHARM.

Since 2004, USA/UK-based NOHARM has combined high fashion and eye-catching aesthetics with a bold and inspiring set of ethics that guides its operations, materials sourcing, and production processes. The Company’s shoes are certified as fully vegan by the Vegan Society, completely cruelty-free, and hand-crafted in Italy by manufacturers that do not use child labor or worker exploitation.

The Albany Vegetarian Network Inc. is a not-for-profit organization comprised of dedicated volunteers. Our goal is to promote the global health benefits of green sustainable living, environmental awareness, compassion for animals and all beings and to highlight their relationship to a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle.

NOHARM Ethical Clothing

1st Photo Credit
Alanna Facchin
Like Tidal Water

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Ethical Fashion Show 2010 in Paris

The Ethical Fashion Show 2010. The seventh edition of Ethical Fashion Show 2010 will take place in Paris from 25th to 28th September. The main topic for 2010 will be: Fashion and Biodiversity. The Docks en Seine will be an illustrious venue for this growing event.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Special charity event in aid of Haiti

True Tiger & Ctrl.Alt.Shift in Partnership with SOME Night for special charity event in aid of Haiti

Date: Wednesday, 20th January
Price: Minimum donation on the door £5
Location: The Den & Centro, 18 West Central St, London WC1A 1JJ

SOMEnight, London’s premier weekly dance music event is opening its doors and decks to the cream of both the U’s urban and dance music scenes in a bid to raise money for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Having partnered with Ctrl.Alt.Shift, a charity who use popular culture to take global action, and esteemed production outfit True Tiger, some of the biggest names in the business have agreed to waiver their fee’s to appear at the event, with the confirmed line-up a cross section of the UK’s talent spanning multiple genres.

Stanza, of True Tiger explains: “We’ve literally pulled this together in three days. I got on the phone to Jack, the head of Vagabondz promotions at SOMEnight and Chantelle Fiddy, editor of Ctrl.Alt.Shift, about joining forces. We want to ensure our money gets to those who need it the most and Ctrl.Alt.Shift’s partners on the ground in Haiti will do just that. The response from everyone involved has been amazing and people have donated merchandise and goodies for our raffle on the night so we should be able to make a substantial contribution to the world-wide relief effort.”

Tinchy Stryder, the UKs best selling male artist of 2009 says: “It’s so sad and I know everyone who’s seen the news has been touched by how many people have lost their lives and being made homeless. I’ve protested with Ctrl.Alt.Shift before but now, more than ever, it’s about playing your part, so whether you can give £5 or £50, be a part of it. Unfortunately I’m in America and can’t attend the event but I’ve donated a load of gear from Star In The Hood which you can win on the night, so do make sure you buy your raffle ticket too.”

Wiley, currently in the charts with club anthem ‘Take That’ adds: “When disasters like this happen it gives you a reality check and if there’s something we can do to help then we should all do it. An event like this shows that we’re able to come together and make a difference where it matters.”

With 2009 being the year than many underground artists and genre’s achieved mainstream chart success there has never been a better reason for one and all to come together, share a great night of music and raise money for a worthy cause.

The event takes place at the infamous 1200 capacity Den & Centro (formally The End) in central London on the 20th January.

Proceeds will go to the Ctrl.Alt.Shift Haiti appeal. Hundreds of thousands of people are already feared dead and many more are believed to be critically injured. Countless are homeless. The five partner groups are are targeting areas that are getting little help from other agencies. They will provide food, tents, hygiene kits, blankets, jerry cans for water, water purifiers and medical support.

Updates on the money raised and how it’s been distributed will be available at www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/haiti.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Sustainable Fashion – Fashion Fusion Expo 2010

Sustainable Fashion - Fashion Fusion Expo 2010

To raise awareness about fashion and sustainability, Fashion Fusion Expo 2010 is hosting an event on 12-13th March to show that sustainable fashion can still be stylish. The event will feature sustainable designers including Ethical, African, Caribbean, Asian Oriental and European clothing, shoes and accessories. Fashion Fusion aims to attract more than 6000 visitors.

Expo 2010 will present new talent, and showcase a high pro?le list of UK designers appealing to media, consumers, celebrities and stylists. To raise as much awareness as possible, Fashion Fusion teamed up with companies including Ethical Fashion Forum, London College of Fashion, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, Fair Trade, Pesticide Action, and Eco Design.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Ethical Fashion?

Ethical Fashion? The ETHICAL FASHION SHOW® Paris is back:

From 1st to 4th october, during the fashion week
AT THE TAPIS ROUGE
67, rue du faubourg St Martin 75010 Paris

A lot of people ask, exactly what is ethical fashion? There are numerous answers from brands like NOHARM, Loomstate and Edun. The issues extended from:

Agenda 21 – One of the main documents created during the Eco 92 climate conference in Rio de Janeiro. Based on this document signed by 170 countries, a global action plan for social and environmental sustainability was created, ultimately resulting in many local agendas all over the world. Many eco fashion initiatives have also been inspired by Agenda 21.

all the way to…

Vegetarian Animal Free – Referring to products that have been produced without the use of leather or animal tissue products. Examples are shoes or bags made from “vegetal leather” using Amazonian rubber instead of animal skins.

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Vegan T-Shirts by NOHARM

Vegan T-Shirts by NOHARM NOHARM, is generally considered the original environmentally x vegan clothing and footwear brand. The NOHARM organic T-Shirt looks simple, stylish and sophisticated and would make a good match with a pair of eco-friendly Sugar Cane jeans.

To quote NOHARM “NOHARM synergises High Fashion and Ethical Consumerism. NOHARM recognises these two terms are no longer mutually exclusive and the synergy of fashion and ethics is consumer driven by a powerful and wide demographic. “Ethical consumerism” is a term gaining support and recognition at an exponential rate. The growing demand for cruelty-free, eco-conscious, environmentally-friendly and fair-trade products is placing an onus on the fashion industry to look towards socially and ethically responsible materials and production methods. NOHARM is at the vanguard of this new era and is proud and honoured to introduce an exciting range of high fashion, cruelty-free, vegan footwear for the discerning and ethically responsible consumer.”

Ethical Fashion Fashion

Ethical Fashion

The International ethical fashion trade fair will take place October 9th – 12th 2008 in Paris at the Carrousel du Louvre.

Ethical Fashion ShowÂ® is organised by Universal Love a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1995.

Ethical Fashion Show’s objective is to bring together International buyers and fashion professionals together with cutting edge ethical fashion designers from around the world. This is a 4-day trade event, with one day open to the general public.

2008 NEWS:
This year it’s our 5th birthday! To mark this occasion, we have decided to publish a fashion magazine Â« ETHICAL FASHION Â» which will present ethical fashion from around the world with high end photo reports as well as articles about sustainable development and lifestyles.

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